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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · bore · roll · arm · squash · field · straw · bowl

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bore — to tire
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. roll — a list
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. field — a subject
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. squash — to crush
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. file — a tool
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. file — a document
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bore — gave birth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com